I have a terrible time not buying too much when I go to the farmers’ market on Saturday morning. All the fruits and vegetables are displayed so artistically and are so fresh that I have the tendency to want to put a little bit of everything into my basket. New items appear each week and it won’t be long before vine ripened heirloom tomatoes make a showing. Right now berries are at their peak and we will enjoy them every week until they disappear from sight. I couldn’t resist a few stalk of rhubarb because I wanted to try to duplicate little rhubarb tarts we found in Paris. Each afternoon we stopped at a patisserie and selected several sweets for that evening’s dessert. On this particular day we chose a raspberry mille feuille and a rhubarb tart. We bought just one tart to share and were sorry we didn’t splurge on several more.
A flaky, buttery crust was filled with large pieces of sweetly tart rhubarb in the most delicious filling you could imagine – not a custard and not the almond frangipane filling that I use in several other favorite tart recipes. I experimented with several ingredients and finally settled on a mixture of eggs, sour cream and just a little bit of almond flour.
My tart pans are shallow and it doesn’t take a long time to bake whatever is in them so I poached the rhubarb pieces in a sugar syrup for a couple of minutes to give them a head start. I brushed the tops of the hot tarts with the leftover rhubarb flavored syrup.
I was very happy with the filling and think it will pair perfectly with our beautiful Northwest fruits as they come into season…apricots, pears, peaches, cherries…so many wonderful things to choose from.
I had a little extra filling and baked it in small dishes I use for crème brûlée. It was delicious without the crust too.
- 1-1/3 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 pound rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a food processor combine flour and sugar. Add cold butter and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add egg yolks and whirl just until dough holds together firmly. Pat into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Press pastry dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan with removable rim. Bake in a 300 degree oven until pale gold, about 20 minutes. This was enough dough to make 5 4-inch tart shells.
- Rinse rhubarb, trim and discard ends, and cut stalks into ½-inch pieces. Mix together sugar and ¾ cup water in a 10-12 inch frying pan. Set over medium-low heat. When sugar has dissolved add rhubarb and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Remove from the syrup. SAVE SYRUP.
- Whisk together eggs, sugar, sour cream, almond meal and vanilla.
- Add rhubarb pieces to the tart shell, arrange evenly. If using small tarts, divide the rhubarb evenly. Pour the filling over the rhubarb pieces.
- Bake in a 325 degree oven until the filling is just set, don't over cook. 20-25 minutes for the large tart, 12-15 minutes for the tarts.
- Cool the tarts for 10 minutes then brush with remaining rhubarb syrup. If the syrup is thin cook over medium low heat until it thickens to the consistency of maple syrup. If it is too thick add a teaspoon or two of water and reheat just a little bit until it can be brushed over the top of the tart..
Oh none of those would have ever made it to dinner.
Beautiful, yours and the ones you bought. Rhubarb is not a common ingredient around here so I’ve never developed a taste for it.
I have always loved rhubarb. It may be one of those things you have to grow up with. I waited every spring for my grandmother’s rhubarb pie.
Cathy recently posted..Rhubarb Cream Tarts
I wish I was your neighbor! What a perfect way to showcase rhubarb and any other berry! So far, we have rhubarb but the berries aren’t quite here yet. Soon!
Best,
Bonnie
Bonnie recently posted..Chicken Dijonnaise
I wish you were my neighbor too, Bonnie. I would love to share desserts with you.
Cathy recently posted..Rhubarb Cream Tarts
STOP!!! I’m salivating … if it wasn’t nearly bed time I’d be off on a bakery crawl!!!!
Red Nomad OZ recently posted..Surviving Nature’s Window – Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia
They are beautiful Cathy..hope you got my email?
Monique recently posted..Garden Glory~A little long~
Those look delicious.
Cathy, you really hit the jackpot with this recipe!! Absolutely love rhubarb and have not eaten the real stuff since we left Wisconsin 14 years ago. Well, maybe I have had it once since then, but I just don’t like what I find at the grocer’s here in Florida. I will keep this recipe for other fruits more readily available and just dream about the rhubarb.
Susan recently posted..Bacon Jam
Oh my goodness….that all looks so good!!!!
I love Farmer’s Market time!!!
xo KRis
Would love a little more info on how you baked the crustless version. That’s more likely what I would do. Love the idea of using different fruits all summer as they come into the market. Any suggestions on how to prep the different fruits for this. For instance, that was helpful to know to precook the rhubarb a bit. How do you think stone fruits and berries will do without precooking?
I had an aunt who was the “dessert queen” when I was growing up. Everyone went crazy over her sweet treats. This reminds me of something she would hav made. She’s too old to cook now, you might have to take over her title, Cathy
I love those little tart pans, good idea to par-boil the rhubarb first. I wish we could get a lot of rhubarb around here. It usually comes in to Florida for such a short time and very expensive. I do love it though, my mom used to serve cooked rhubarb with a little sugar at the dinner table. YUM, good memories of the first of summer.
Lyndsey@TheTinySkillet recently posted..I’m Back!! With One of My Dad’s Concoctions!
I love rhubarb. My Mom grew it when I was a kid. The tarts are so pretty
Liz @ Virtually Homemade recently posted..Grilled Corn with Ancho Chili Butter and Fresh Lime
Gorgeous desserts Cathy and I thought poaching the rhubarb first was a great idea:@)
Happier Than A Pig in Mud recently posted..Cilantro Salt-Preserving Cilantro
I grew up eating rhubarb from our neighbor’s garden, love it! This looks delicious.
Rhonda recently posted..Salad Days
The rhubarb is late in our gardens this year due to the cold and wet spring, but it has finally arrived. These rhubarb tarts remind me that I better get out and pick some! Happy June!
xo
Roz
Roz recently posted..Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Pie & Cold Hawaiian Treats
Gorgeous looking tarts. I just love when you give us tips on how to make it better. I would never have thought about giving the rhubarb a little head start – very smart. I have some small tart pans like yours, but they are dark. I am not sure if I am happy with them or not. I am constantly looking for the “right” pan.
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon recently posted..Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
Sounds divine Cathy. Can hardly wait to try something similar in Paris, but I will definitely make your recipe when we get home. We leave Thursday.
Penny recently posted..France is Calling
The tarts sound great and I also like the idea of baking it without a crust.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted..The Secret To A Great Tomato
Me too Kathy, I buy too much and then struggle to make sure I use it all. I have a tart pan that’s never been used :/
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) recently posted..Colorado Black Forest Fire
Oh Cathy, How did I miss this? Amazing! I love all your baked goods!
Would there be an acceptable substitution for almond flour like all-purpose flour and almond extract?
I would just leave the almond flour out, Patty. The filling would be a little more custard-like, and that would be delicious too. If you try it please let me know.
Cathy recently posted..Mediterranean Langostino Pasta